Control
by FallenAngel218
Summary: Tony is being terrorized in his dreams, and wakes up bearing the bruises from his tormentor. Is it really a dream, or is there a force behind the night terrors?
1. Chapter 1

**Rated T for sexual content and foul language. **

**Disclaimer: **I got the idea for this story from an episode of _The Haunted _on Netflix, in which a man was experiencing this very same thing. I am not using his exact experience, as the show is reality-based, but I thought it would be fun to torture Tony for a bit (I'm so evil...)

**Chapter 1**

"The next callout we have, I'm driving," Tony grumbled as he nearly fell out of the MCRT van at the crime scene. Gibbs smirked as he pocketed the keys and walked toward the front door of the home of Gunnery Sergeant Ken Spencer. The team had been called when a neighbor came to visit, and found him on the floor of his office, holding an antique pistol in his hand.

Gibbs assigned Tony to bag and tag, while Tim took photos. As soon as he'd delegated assignments, he went back into the living room to talk to the neighbors.

"This looks pretty cut and dry to me," Tim said as he took a picture of the gun.

"No signs of struggle as far as I can see," Tony said as he squatted in front of the body, snapping on a pair of latex gloves.

"I'll be the judge of that."

Tony looked up to see Ducky and Jimmy making their way into the small study. Ducky kneeled in front of the body and started his preliminary examination. Tony decided to busy himself with looking around the office for clues. He searched the desk, and didn't find any incriminating paperwork. He turned on the computer, and noticed immediately that it was locked. He closed the laptop and retrieved an extra-large evidence bag, to take it with them back to NCIS. As he deposited the MacBook into an evidence bin, Ducky looked up.

"He's been dead for two days. I don't see any defensive wounds from my preliminary examination. I'll have to examine him further when I get him home, but it looks like our Gunnery Sergeant committed suicide."

Distraught wailing could suddenly be heard from the living room.

"Sounds like his wife is home," Tony observed.

"Mr. Palmer, let's get him on the gurney before his wife sees him like this."

"Yes, Doctor."

Tony helped Ducky and Jimmy get the body bag onto the gurney, and Tim continued to take photos. After the ME had gone with the body, Tony suddenly felt lightheaded. He regained his bearings and looked around the room. He was oddly shaken at how clean and undisturbed it was. There was something about this house that didn't sit right with Tony, but he couldn't pinpoint what it was. Shaking off his apprehension, he continued to process the scene.

_later that afternoon..._

"What have you got, Ducky?" Tony asked as he entered Autopsy.

"It's as I expected. Gunnery Sergeant Spencer shot himself in the head."

Tony found himself staring at the body, now cut open from stem to sternum on Ducky's autopsy table. He recalled the home, and how tidy and organized it had been. He hadn't even found a liquor cabinet in the home. What would someone who lived so cleanly have weighing on him that would make him want to shoot himself?

"Tony? Are you all right?"

Tony brought himself back and looked up at a concerned Palmer.

"I'm good. Thanks, Ducky. I'll let Gibbs know so we can close the case."

Tony turned and left Autopsy, leaving Ducky and Palmer with confused looks on their faces.

As the elevator ascended to the squad room, the lightheaded feeling Tony experienced at the Gunny's house started to come back. He reached out and hit the elevator stop.

"What in the hell?" he said to himself as he leaned back against the elevator wall. He hoped it wasn't an oncoming flu as he regained his bearings and turned the elevator back on.

Gibbs was at his desk when Tony came back. He looked up at the SFA as he entered the bullpen area.

"What did Ducky say?"

"It was definitely suicide, Boss. Ducky has no doubt that the Gunny shot himself in the head."

"Okay. You and McGee write your reports and get them to me ASAP so we can close this up."

"On it, Boss."

Tony sat at his desk and pulled up an empty case report. He still had a weird feeling about this case, but at least it was over, and he could put it behind him forever.

Tony trudged into his apartment around midnight. Right after they'd closed the Spencer case, another one fell into their laps, and Gibbs had them working well into the night. He kicked off his shoes and fell onto the couch, too tired to make it to his bedroom. He fell asleep as soon as his face hit the pillow.

_A soft hand gently cupped his cheek, and he awakened. When had he gotten into his bed? He looked to find the source of the touch, and fell into the gaze of a beautiful woman. Her long, flowing brown hair fell over her naked breasts, and her brown eyes seemed to gaze deep into his soul. She was lying on her side next to him. _

_She leaned in and kissed him softly. Tony closed his eyes and relaxed into the kiss. He could feel shockwaves of pleasure coursing through his veins as they passionately kissed. He reached out to cup her breast in his hand, but she met his reach with her own hand, and clasped it as her other hand roamed his body. _

_He felt the zipper release on his slacks, and her soft hand slipped down into his underwear. His eyes rolled back into his head at her touch. The pleasure was like nothing he'd ever experienced before. He could feel his orgasm slowly building up, but he didn't want this feeling to stop. _

_With a satisfied shout, Tony felt his release. He shuddered through his orgasm and sank into the bed. He felt completely satisfied. He opened his eyes to look at the beautiful woman, see her once more. _

_When he looked into her eyes, they suddenly changed from deep brown to glassy and green, and they resembled the eyes of a cat._

_The woman sat up on his lap and hissed at him, her fingers transformed into long, sharp claws. Suddenly, she was slashing at him with both hands, hissing and screeching. He tried to push her off of him, but he didn't have the strength. He screamed out as she slashed across his chest. He was helpless to save himself... _

Tony shot up on the couch, breathing heavy. He looked around his darkened apartment. No one was there. He looked down at his clothing. It was still intact, and his pants, regrettably, were still zipped up.

"It was a dream. Just a dream," he said, pushing himself off the couch. He padded into his room to change into something more comfortable for sleeping. As he stood in front of his dresser mirror and unbuttoned his shirt, a scar came into view underneath his shirt. He rapidly unbuttoned his shirt and pulled it open.

There were several slash marks on his chest, made by something big.

"What the hell..."

He let his shirt fall to the floor, and was terrified to find more scratches on his upper right arm, where he'd tried to defend himself in-

"The dream... no, no way, that was a dream," he told himself. "That didn't happen. It couldn't."

Tony quickly pulled on a T-shirt and sweatpants and crawled into his bed. He didn't sleep the rest of the night.

**TBC...**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Tony made it through the next day with no one the wiser that something was bothering him. They closed up their current case, and Gibbs sent them home early when another one did not pop up. Tony had never been so glad to leave work, and was the first one out the door. Tim had asked him if he was all right, as they rode the elevator downstairs together, and he assured his friend he was fine, that he just didn't get much sleep the night before. It _was_the truth, after all.

As soon as he got home, Tony locked the apartment door and secured the deadbolt and chain. He moved around his apartment with his weapon, and made sure every window was secured. After he'd completed his check, and found no one hiding in his apartment that could have made the scratch marks, he went into the kitchen and got himself a beer from the refrigerator. He took it to the living room and sank onto the couch as he turned on the NCAA game. If he could take his mind off the dream, maybe he could sleep tonight. Maybe he wouldn't have the dream again.

An hour later, the beer bottle was empty, and Tony was asleep.

_He opened his eyes to find her sitting on top of him. She was completely naked, the same long, brown hair falling over her breasts. _

_"Who are you?" he asked as he looked into her eyes._

_She put a finger on his lips, signaling him to be quiet. She started to reposition her body, and Tony noticed then that he was completely naked, and conveniently hard as a rock. _

_She took him in, and started to ride him. The pleasure he felt was almost blinding. He'd had some pretty awesome sex in his forty-something years, but nothing compared to what this woman was doing to him right now. He was so overcome that he couldn't even let out a moan. __It didn't take long for him to explode within her, his orgasm powerful and mind-blowing. _

_She leaned down to kiss him, her breasts pressing against his chest. She felt her hot tongue invade his mouth, and he reached to touch her beautiful hair, press her in closer to him. He suddenly felt her hand grasp him by the wrist and squeeze-hard._

_"What are you doing?" he asked, trying to free his wrist._

_"No."_

_"I want to touch you, baby... I have to..."_

_"No!" her voice wasn't beautiful. It was raspy, as if she'd just smoked three packs of cigarettes. Tony suddenly felt fear...intense fear._

_"Who are you?" he asked her, still fighting to free himself._

_"Mine!" she screeched, baring her teeth. They were razor sharp, like a cat._

_"Get away from me!" Tony screamed as she pinned his arms above his head. _

_"Mine!" _

_The last thing he heard was his own screams as she went for his throat. _

"DiNozzo!" yelled the Superintendent as he pounded on Tony's door. His phone had been ringing for over an hour, with reports from worried neighbors of screams coming from Tony's apartment. "DiNozzo! Open the door!" He pounded again. He could hear groaning and shouting coming from inside the apartment.

_He's probably got some floozy in there... what else is new?_

"DiNozzo, if you don't open the damn door, I'm coming in!" He shouted again. He started to pull the master key from his pocket. He'd had enough of this. As he put the key into the lock, the screaming stopped. Moments later, he head the locks turning on the door. He quickly pocketed his keys as his tenant finally opened his door. He was still dressed in his work clothing.

"Hal... what are you doing here?"

"Listen, you know I don't care about who you bring up here, but could you keep it down to a dull roar? You're waking up half the building with your sex romp!"

"What?"

"It's after midnight, genius. Other people are trying to sleep."

"I-I'm sorry, Hal."

"Just keep it the hell down, okay?"

Tony blinked himself into a more awake state. He quickly realized what had happened, and nodded at his Super.

"I understand, Hal. I'm really sorry."

"Good night."

"Night, Hal."

Tony shut his door and locked it.

"Fuck... not again."

He hurried to the bathroom and looked at himself in the mirror. His eyes went wide in terror when he saw livid bite marks on his neck.

"My god..."

As he leaned in to examine them, flashes of the dream flipped through his mind like a slide show. He saw her, naked, her breasts bouncing as she rode him into ecstasy. He felt her kiss, and saw himself reach out to touch her.

Intense pain radiated from his wrist when he saw her grab his wrist and squeeze it.

_Mine! _

He stumbled backward as he came back from the flashback. He was awake, in his bathroom. She wasn't there.

Tony looked down at his left wrist as he pulled back the sleeve of his shirt. There was a black and blue mark, in the shape of a hand print.

"What the fuck is happening to me?" Tony said aloud to himself as he sat down on the closed toilet seat. "I'm losing my fucking mind..."

Tony opened up his medicine cabinet and found his Ace bandage. He wrapped his wrist tightly, like he used to do in his basketball days, and secured it. He knew if he went to the ER, it would be reported to his place of employment, and he couldn't risk Gibbs finding out about this. He wouldn't let a few nightmares put him out of the job.

Only he wasn't sure they were just nightmares. Someone - or _something_- was clearly out to get him.

He changed his clothes and lay back down on the couch. ESPN was still on, and there was a postgame show on. He sat up and started to channel surf. There was _no way_he was letting himself sleep.

_The next morning, 0700 hours..._

Tim looked up as Tony trudged into the squad room, and was instantly worried. Instead of the usual designer suit and shined dress shoes, Tony was wearing an old pair of slacks and a turtleneck sweater. He looked tired, as if he hadn't slept much, or at all.

_Didn't he tell me yesterday that he didn't get much sleep the night before? _

As Tony booted up his computer, Tim rose from his chair and approached his friend's desk.

"Is everything all right, Tony?"

"I'm fine, Tim. Why?"

"You look like crap."

"Thanks a lot, McSunshine," Tony grated out as he reached for his cup of coffee. He missed and knocked it over, spilling coffee all over his desk.

"Damn it!"

Tony jumped up, his chair flying backward into his cubicle wall.

"It's only coffee, Tony."

"I needed it, damn it! I need coffee!"

Tony hadn't realized it, but he'd shouted at the top of his lungs, and half the squad room was beginning to stare.

"Okay, relax. I'll get you another cup from the break room. Sit down in your chair and take some deep breaths, okay?"

Tony nodded.

"Okay. I'm sorry."

"It's no problem."

Tim went down to the break room and returned minutes later with a fresh cup of coffee and a handful of paper towels. While Tony snatched the coffee and drank gratefully, Tim cleaned up the spill on Tony's desk. Luckily, there wasn't anything important laying out on the desk to be ruined.

"There, no harm done," Tim said as he threw away the ruined paper towels. Tony was still drinking the coffee, hands shaking, and clearly not paying attention to his friend. "Tony?"

Suddenly, Tony seemed to come back to reality, and looked up at Tim.

"Thanks for the coffee, and cleaning my desk."

"No problem. I'd better get back to work before Gibbs gets here."

Tony nodded as he pulled up to his desk, gripping the styrofoam cup with shaking hands.

Tim went back to his desk, but he couldn't concentrate on the report he'd been working on. He kept his eyes on Tony. He was gripping the coffee as if it were his lifeline. It was painfully obvious after the coffee ordeal moments ago that something was wrong with Tony.

He only hoped he could figure it out before Tony got worse.

**TBC...**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Tim observed Tony's behavior all day. Tony drank three more cups of coffee that morning before Gibbs called them to meet him in Anacostia, and he bought a fourth at the coffee kiosk on their way down to get the MCRT truck. Tim insisted on driving, and Tony amazingly agreed.

They met Gibbs at the scene, and Tony was assigned to take pictures. They were investigating the death of a Marine, who had been riding his motorcycle, and had apparently veered off the road, and into a tree.

Tony tried to hold the camera steady, but the pain in his wrist was excruciating. He knew he was being observed by his teammates, so he pushed the pain aside and continued with his work. All of a sudden, he felt the ground disappear underneath him, and he fell.

Tim was leaning over the body with Ducky when he heard the scream. He looked up to see Tony stumble and fall down the small hill, and into the mud. Ducky nodded, and Tim went to his friend's aide.

"Tony! Are you okay?" He said, extending a hand to help his friend to his feet. Tony allowed Tim to help him up, and he picked up the camera, now splattered with mud. "Great, I hope it's not broken. That'll come out of my paycheck for sure."

"It'll be all right, it's just a little bit of mud," Tim assured him as they climbed back up to the side of the road to rejoin the team.

"You all right, DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked when the boys emerged.

"I'm okay, Boss. I tripped on a rock."

Gibbs glared at his SFA for a long moment.

"McGee, finish taking the photos."

"On it, Boss."

"Can you bag and tag without falling, DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked.

"Yeah Boss, I can manage it," he grumbled irritably.

_Thwack!_

"Drop the attitude."

Tony nodded and went to finish where Tim had left off with the bag-and-tag.

Gibbs kept an eye on Tony for the rest of the day. He'd been concerned by his SFA's behavior the day before, and was deeply concerned after his fall at the crime scene.

He looked up as the elevator dinged, and Tony came into the squad room carrying a tray of coffees. He handed one to Tim, who was walking by, and then made his way over to Gibbs. Tony stopped in front of his Boss' desk and took the marked up from the tray, setting it down.

"Thanks, DiNozzo."

"You're welcome."

Tony turned to walk to his desk, and Gibbs rose to his feet.

"DiNozzo," he said loudly. Tony turned around. "Is everything all right?"

"I'm fine, Boss. Just tired."

"How many cups of coffee is that, today?" Gibbs countered as he rounded his desk to join Tony, who had made it to his own desk.

"I lost count."

Gibbs looked down into Tony's garbage can.

"There are five cups in your trash, not counting the one you were guzzling at the crime scene. This one makes seven cups today."

"So what? You practically breathe coffee."

"Have you been sleeping?"

"What? Of course I have."

Gibbs crossed his arms and glared at Tony. He knew he was being lied to. Tony didn't say anything to correct his lie. Gibbs leaned in and rested his palms on Tony's desk.

"Get yourself together."

Tony nodded, and Gibbs returned to his desk, snatching up his own cup of coffee before he left the squad room.

_**later that night...**_

Tony threw open the door to his apartment and stumbled in. A pretty blonde was hanging off his arm. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him sloppily. They were both drunk as shit.

He shoved the door closed with his foot, and clumsily picked her up and carried her to the couch. He sat down and she straddled his lap, crushing her lips onto his. She smelled of Dior perfume and Malibu rum. It drove him crazy.

He made short work of her shirt, and kissed her neck as he unhooked her bra. He let it fall and made his way down to tease her nipple with his tongue. She moaned as he circled her nipple with the tip of his tongue.

It felt so good to be in control.

He moved to envelope her in his arms, pull her back in to kiss her, when he felt a strong grip on his wrist. He pulled back from the kiss and shouted in pain. He looked up at his arm, and realized that there was no one holding his wrist.

_What the fuck... _

Suddenly, the girl flew backward from his lap, and into the coffee table. She fell to the ground, unconscious.

Tony instantly kneeled at her side. She was very much alive, and breathing normally.

_What the hell do I do now?_

He found her top and put it back on her, then called 911.

_"911, what's the nature of the emergency?" _

"My-my date, she fell and hit her head. She's unconscious. I need an ambulance."

_"Where are you now, sir?" _

Tony opened his mouth to answer the dispatcher, but nothing came out. His eyes were locked on a pair of eyes, staring at him. Only there was no one standing there.

_"Sir?" _

"W-what do you want from me?" he managed to stutter.

_"Sir, I need to know your location so I can send someone to help you."_

"Mine!"

Tony felt himself being shoved to the ground, and an invisible force was holding him down.

"No! Get away from me!"

_"Sir? Sir, I'm sending help right away!" _

The call disconnected.

**TBC...**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Gibbs shot up on the couch as soon as he heard his cell ring. He snatched it off the coffee table and answered it without looking at the caller ID - a habit for him at two in the morning.

"Yeah, Gibbs."

_"Hello, this is Nurse Nellie Myers calling from the ER at Bethesda Hospital. We have an Anthony__DiNozzo__Jr here tonight... you're listed as his emergency contact." _

Gibbs felt a lump form in his throat.

"What's happened? He's okay?"

_"We're not sure what happened... he won't talk to anyone. He's got bruises and scratches everywhere, as if he'd been attacked."_

"I'm on my way. Don't let him leave that hospital."

_"Don't worry about that, Sir. He isn't going anywhere."_

Gibbs hung up the phone, pulled on jeans and a hoodie and ran out the door.

"We had to bring him to the psych ward after we called you," the Doctor explained as he led Gibbs to Tony's room. "When we tried to talk to him, the only thing he could mutter was the word 'mine.' He started mumbling it over and over."

"How did the paramedics find him when they got to his apartment?"

"There was a woman in the apartment with him, who was already unconscious when the EMTs got there. Metro PD had to break down the door to get inside. They found him on the ground, flailing around, screaming as if someone were attacking him brutally. The cops had to hold him down while the EMT gave him a sedative so they could get him downstairs to the ambulance."

"How's the girl he was with?"

"She'll be fine. She's got a minor concussion from hitting her head on the coffee table."

They arrived at Tony's room.

"I hope you can get through to him. The more we know about what happened, the better."

Gibbs nodded, and the Doctor left him alone.

Tony was sitting up in bed, staring at the wall when Gibbs entered the room.

"Hey, Tony. How are you doing?" Gibbs said gently. He had a million questions to ask, but he didn't want to jump into an interrogation and alarm Tony.

"Mine."

"What do you mean?" Gibbs asked.

"Mine. Not hers."

"Who? Your date from tonight?"

"Not hers!"

Gibbs put a hand on his friend's shoulder, to reassure him. Tony freaked out at the physical contact and started screaming.

"Tony, it's okay! It's me! It's Gibbs! No one is going to hurt you!" Gibbs tried over the screaming. As he attempted to calm him down, the Doctor rushed in and immediately administered a sedative. Moments later, Tony calmed and sank into a drug-induced slumber.

"What happened?"

"I put my hand on his shoulder, to help him relax, and he flipped out," Gibbs reported.

"Let him rest. Feel free to use the waiting room down the hall. It's private and you won't be disturbed."

"Thanks."

Gibbs went into the empty waiting room and closed the door behind him. His first call was to Tim.

_"McGee..."_ Tim mumbled tiredly into the phone.

"Tony's in the psych ward at Bethesda. Something happened to him tonight."

_"What? Is he all right?" _

"Physically, yes. Mentally, he's checked out. He keeps saying 'mine.' I asked him what it meant, and he said 'not hers.'"

_"What the hell does that mean?" _

"That's what I want you to figure out. Go to his apartment and get what you can before Metro clears the evidence."

_"Got it."_

"When you get to NCIS, pull the 911 call made from Tony's phone. I want to hear the recording."

_"Will do. I'll call you from Tony's apartment." _

Gibbs hung up and dialed Ducky's cell phone next. The Doctor answered in much the same way as Tim did. He explained what had happened, and Ducky agreed to come down to the hospital to sit with Tim.

Phone calls made, Gibbs left the waiting room and made his way down to the nurses' station. He showed his badge to the nurse seated at the reception desk.

"I need to speak with the young woman that was brought in with Agent DiNozzo. Is she still in the hosptial?"

The nurse tapped some keys on her keyboard.

"I can't tell you anything about her condition, but I can tell you she's still in the hospital."

"Can you tell me where to find her? I need to talk to her about what happened."

"Room B3563, on the next floor."

"Thank you."

Gibbs smiled at her and headed to the elevator. It was time for answers.

The young woman was awake when Gibbs came into her room.

"Who the hell are you?" She said defensively.

"I'm Agent Gibbs," he said, showing her his badge. "I'm a friend of the man you were with tonight."

"Why the hell are you here? Hasn't your friend caused me enough problems tonight?"

"You were about to have sex with a man you barely knew... tell me again how he's the cause."

The woman shut her mouth.

"What do you remember from the time you two got back to his place?" Gibbs asked, sitting in a chair near her bed.

"Not much. We were both drunk. I'm still feeling it, actually. I remember making out on the couch, and getting hot and heavy."

"Then what?"

"What are you, some kind of pervert?"

"Something happened to Tony, right before you hit your head. Did you see anything strange?"

"I didn't _see_anything, but I heard something, right before-"

Gibbs nodded to her.

"I'm not here to judge. I promise."

"He had his hand raised in the air, like he was trying to touch my hair. I heard- I heard a voice."

"Other than yours or Tony's?"

"It was creepy as shit. It sounded like a woman who'd smoked about ten packs of cigarettes. It sounded evil."

"What did it say?"

"That's the weird part. It said 'mine.' That's when I felt myself pulled backward, away from him. The last thing I remember was the look on his face. He was petrified."

A knock on the door stopped their conversation.

"Thank you for talking to me, Miss..."

"Call me Jo."

"Thank you, Jo. Get some rest, and feel better."

"Thanks. I hope Tony gets better."

Gibbs nodded and left Jo with the nurse.

Metro PD was gone from the apartment when Tim arrived. There was blood on the carpet near the couch. Tim took some samples and bagged them for Abby to analyze. The coffee table was tipped over, and several things were broken.

"What the hell is wrong, Tony?" Tim asked the empty apartment as he looked around for anything else he could call evidence. He bagged pieces of the broken items, and took some fingerprint samples from the couch and coffee table, and called it a night.

He called the 911 dispatch on his way to NCIS, and had the tape pulled from the call Tony had placed shortly before he was found. It was waiting for him when he got back to NCIS. Unfortunately, so was Abby.

"What's going on, Timmy? Is he all right? Why is he in the psych ward?"

"We're trying to figure that out, Abbs." He held up the evidence box in his hand. "Can you analyze the blood samples and check for prints on some of this stuff? I have to listen to the 911 call Tony made and see if I can hear anything."

"Absolutely!"

Tim smiled as Abby took the evidence and started to work. He busied himself at her other computer with the recording. He put on a set of headphones and listened to the recording. About fifteen seconds into it, Tim paused the recording as the blood drained from his face.

There was a third voice on the tape... a voice that sounded inhuman.

"Abby," Tim said suddenly. "You need to hear this."

**TBC...**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Ducky arrived at the hospital about an hour after speaking with Gibbs. He found his way to the psychological wing and asked to see Tony. The nuse explained that Tony was sedated, but she'd allow him to go in anyway. Ducky thanked her and made his way to Tony's room.

Tony was sleeping soundly when Ducky stepped in. He went to Tony's bedside and looked him over. There were marks on his face, as if something scratched him. The scratch marks were on his arms as well. Ducky reached out and gently picked up Tony's left arm, to examine the bruising on Tony's wrist. It looked as though someone were holding it, but it was the oddest handprint he'd ever seen.

"What happened to you, Anthony?" Ducky quietly asked to the sleeping figure. He lay Tony's arm back to the blanket and pulled up a chair. He wanted to be there when his friend finally woke up.

_The next morning..._

Tony's eyes fluttered open slowly. He felt like he'd been hit by a truck. As his vision cleared, he realized that he wasn't at home anymore. He was in the hospital.

Before he could turn his head, a familiar face leaned over his bed.

"Ducky..."

"Good Morning, Tony."

"How long have I been here?" Tony asked, adjusting his bed a bit so he was sitting up.

"Since two in the morning, I'd wager... that was when I received the call from Jethro."

"My date... what happened? Is she all right?"

"From what Jethro has told me, she's fine... just a bit of a concussion."

"I didn't hit her, Ducky... it wasn't me."

"Was there someone else in the apartment with you besides your date?"

Tony shook his head.

"Can you talk about what happened last night?"

Tony shook his head.

"Tony, I have no doubt that what happened is very traumatic for you, but you must tell me what is going on, before the hospital starts asking questions."

"Ducky, no one can help me with this. I have to stop it on my own. "

"Tony, you don't. You have friends that want to help you. Please, let us help. Let me help."

Tears started to strem down Tony's cheeks.

"I want it to stop, Ducky... I can't stop it... every time I go to sleep, she attacks me. I don't know what to do."

"She? Your date?"

"No... not her... it's this woman... I've been dreaming about her for days. The dream starts out... well... sexual. It's amazing, Ducky... until the sex is over. That's when she-when she attacks me."

"The scratches."

Tony nodded.

"How can a dream do this to me? It's just a dream!"

"This isn't like any dream I've ever encountered."

"Am-am I losing my mind, Ducky?"

"Of course not, Tony. Someone or something is doing this to you, and we shall find out what it is."

"Promise?"

"You have my solemn word."

"Tim... what the heck is that?" Abby asked as she removed the headphones. "It-it sounded like a demon!"

"Let's put it on the speakers and see what happens."

Tim started the recording over and disabled the headphones.

_"911, what's your emergency?"_

_"My date... she needs help... she hit her head and she's unconscious." _

_"Okay sir, what is the location you're calling from?" _

_"Mine!" _

_"Sir? Sir, I need your location."_

_"Get away from me! Leave me alone!" _

_"Sir, I'm sending help to you. Hold on-"_

_"MINE!" _

There was a loud, screeching noise before the call disconnected.

"Okay, so we can safely say that _wasn't_Tony's date screeching, because he said she was unconcsious."

"Obviously, Abby."

"What the hell _was_that? It doesn't sound human."

"Maybe it isn't," Tim said quickly.

"Wat a second... Timothy McGee, are you telling me you think this thing really _is _ a demon?"

"You give me another explanation, Abby. There was no one else in the room with him, except for his unconscious date, yet we have another voice on the tape screaming 'mine' while the dispatcher tries to talk to Tony. Can _you_explain it?"

"Did you notice Tony acting strange this week?" Abby asked.

"Come to think of it, yeah. It started right after we got back from that suicide on base."

"The Gunny?"

"Yeah."

"Do you think something in that house attached itself to Tony?"

"I've head of things like that happening. I have friends who are paranormal researchers. They've told me stories about negative entities that attach themselves to people, just so they can hurt them."

"How do we stop this thing... if that's what it is?" Tim asked.

"Let me call my friend David. He's been a paranormal researcher for 15 years."

"I'm going to call Gibbs while you do that. I don't know if he'll believe any of this, but I have to tell him."

Abby went into her office to call her friend, and Tim dialed Gibbs' number.

_"What have you got for me, McGee?" _

"Abby and I listened to the 911 recording. Boss, there was something else in the room with Tony, besides his date. We don't think it was human."

_"What are you talking about? What else could it be?"_

"A negative entity."

"_Excuse me?" _

"Think about it, Boss... Tony started acting strange the day we came back from processing the Gunny's suicide. What if there were something in that house that attached itself to Tony and rode him out of that house?"

_'What happened to the McGee that didn't believe in this kind of crap?" _

"Change of heart, I guess. Abby is calling her friend David. He's been in the paranormal field for over 15 years. He can help."

_"Let me guess... you want_me _to convince__DiNozzo__to go along with all of this."_

"It might be the only thing that will free him from this."

_"I'll give it a try. Let me know when Abby gets a hold of her friend."_

"Will do."

Tim hung up and slipped the iPhone back into his pocket. He hoped Gibbs could get through to Tony.

**TBC...**


End file.
